Sometimes we let the nature of the times feed fear and engender apprehension.  We find ourselves swept away on the larger tide of some crisis within which we lose our balance and sacrifice our objectivity.  We become part of the chaos rather than being an instrument to ascertain the gravity of the chaos and thereby bring an ascending calm to it.  … [Read more...]

We reap what we sow.  In other words, what we do is never free of an outcome that will be shaped by what we do.  The ‘cause-and-effect’ of life is such that what we do will always cause an outcome that is fashioned directly by what we do.  Despite the fact that we often think (or would prefer to think) that what we do is somehow isolated to the … [Read more...]

What do you say during times of crisis like these?  You want to say something revelatory and deeply meaningful to buoy the spirits of people and give them sufficient hope to lean into the challenges wrought of the crisis and valiantly press through them.  You want people to be reflective in a way that they are not during the calmer times so that … [Read more...]

Do we search for the truth, or do we search for ways around the truth?  Do we even take the time to consider a question like that out of the long-held assumption that we are, in fact, looking for the truth because (we assume) that that’s the obvious thing to do?  What insanity would behoove us to do anything less?  But do we search for the truth, … [Read more...]

Who are you giving yourself away to?  To what propaganda have you come to subscribe?  To what bit of media polished bias or refined political spin have you succumb?  Who has your ear, and therefore holds the heart to which your ear is attached?  What are the voices that have methodically and patiently lulled you into some sort of comatose … [Read more...]

We tend to rather blithely categorize times of crisis simply as happenstance occurrences that reflect the frequently volatile and somewhat unpredictable nature of life.  Because we tend to conceptualize crisis in this manner, we readily place times of crisis in this convenient “us-versus-them” category so that our focus is on managing the crisis … [Read more...]

I grew up in the shadow of a generation who faced the depravity of the Great Depression and then fought through the horrors of World War II.  The deep sense of patriotism and solemn respect for our country ran high among these great people. Therefore, as the Fourth of July once again rolls around on the calendar, I find it appropriate to take a … [Read more...]

What is a warrior?  Who are these combatants who take up arms in whatever way that they take them up?  The shared sense is that a warrior is someone who engages in battle.  That’s quite different from a terrorist who holds that the perceived virtue of the cause justifies the slaughter of the innocent, or someone who runs hard with psychopathic … [Read more...]

Too often we don’t appreciate what we didn’t work for or had to sacrifice for in one way or another.  Hand something to us with no effort exerted on our part to acquire it, and we’ll probably exhibit some scantily shallow and rather quickly fleeting degree of appreciation for it.  But make us work for something and expend actual energy in order to … [Read more...]

What is independence?  Definitions abound, but what is it in actuality?  The Encarta Dictionary describes it as "freedom from dependence on or control by another person, organization, or state."  At its core, it's freedom from dependence or control.  It grants self-autonomy and self-directedness free of encumbrances.  Independence provides the … [Read more...]